Misinterpretations
by Lunar Penguin CPhT
Summary: I'm really sorry you misinterpreted things..." she said. "No, I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship." And with that, he left her alone with her thoughts.
1. Prologue

I know that this has been done a million times before, but I'm hoping this takes an uncharted path. But we shall see where my writing takes me.

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Office or any of its characters.**

_And now, on with the show_

"I'm really sorry if you misinterpreted things…" she began, "You have no idea…"

"No, don't do that. I want to be more than that," he interjected.

"…what your friendship means to me," she finished, "I'm really sorry."

"No, I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship," and with that, he left her to her thoughts.

Jim walked around the building, trying to make sense of what just happened. There was no possible way he could have misinterpreted anything. On his fourth lap, he noticed his office window had a faint glow coming from it. Running a hand through his hair, he entered the building and took the stairs instead of the elevator. It gave him that much more time to think about what had transpired.

Jim opened the office door and paused. He heard a voice over by his desk. Choosing to remain hidden, he heard the speaker say things like "I don't know," and "he's my best friend" and "maybe I am". That last one gave him the slightest hope that maybe what he was about to do wasn't wrong. There was no way he had misinterpreted anything. He had been right! Stepping out from behind the corner he heard Pam mumble into the phone "I got to go, bye". He saw her lips form a syllable or too but he was too focused on them that he didn't hear what she said. The only thing he knew was in that instant his lips were on hers and they were moving in time with his. It was heaven. He pulled her closer as he felt her fingers in his hair. Smiling against her lips, he pulled away and looked her in the eye. Hers were tearing up.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that,"

"Me too," said Pam, "Maybe we're drunk."

"Are you drunk?" he asked. _Please don't let her be drunk._

"No," and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Me neither," he said leaning in for another kiss. This time she pulled away.

"Jim," she began as the tear welled up even more. He looked intently at her as if searching into her very soul for the truth.

"So you're really going to marry him?"

"Yes." That was all he needed. He turned on his heel; his head sunk low, and left the office. Not even saying good-bye, he headed straight for his car. Pulling out his cell phone, he made a phone call.

"Hi, Jan, this is Jim. How are you?" He paused, allowing her to answer, "Yeah, me too, hey listen, do you think we could fill out the transfer paperwork this weekend? I'd like to transfer as soon as possible," another pause, "thanks, Jan. I really appreciate it." He didn't allow himself to cry until he got home.

Well, let me know what you think! This is my first attempt at Office fan fiction. Read and Review please!

-Lunar Penguin


	2. Chapter 1

Ok, so now you've gotten a taste of when this story takes place, let's get a little more involved. On with Chapter 1!!

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Office or any of its characters.**

The next morning, Jim woke up with a headache. Not a hangover headache; but a lack of sleep headache. His pillow was still slightly damp from the tears he shed. He checked his cell phone and saw that he had one new message. Listening, he was disappointed (and happy at the same time) to find it was Jan and not Pam calling him to tell him to meet her at 11:30 at Cugino's so they could fill out the paperwork. He looked over at the clock. It was 10am. Sighing, Jim dragged himself out of bed; all the while asking what the point was. Shuffling over to his bedroom door, he made his way to the bathroom where he hoped a hot shower would get rid of the headache (although he secretly knew it wouldn't).

By the time he was out of the shower, it was 10:45. He had just enough time to get dressed and get to Cugino's. He pulled on a pair of black dress pants and a white Oxford shirt. He figured he wouldn't need to dress too nicely as it was a casual business lunch. Jan wanted him in Stamford and Stamford was where he was going to go.

Rinsing his mouth out with mouthwash, he grabbed his car keys and headed to the restaurant. He turned on the radio to keep himself from thinking too much about the events of last night.

_Well, everybody hurts sometimes,  
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes.  
And everybody hurts sometimes_

Quickly he turned off the radio before the tears could start up again. _So much for taking my mind off things,_ he thought to himself. Sighing, he forced himself to focus on the road and not purposefully ram his car into a telephone pole.

A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Cugino's. Grinning as he spotted Jan's New York license plate he entered the restaurant. _Ok, soon I'll be away from all of this _he thought as Jan waved him over. Taking a deep breath, he made his way to her table. Seeing that she already had the paperwork out for him, he thanked God that she was making this quick and painless.

"Everything alright, Jim?" Jan's voice made him realize that he had just been staring at the paperwork for the past few minutes. Jim nodded, grabbed the pen and signed in all the right places. His signature on one of the forms was smudged a little when he realized that he had foolishly allowed a tear to escape. Narrowing his eyes, he began to take deep breaths in and out. It was her fault he was leaving. She was the one who said no. She was the one who wouldn't leave her jerk fiancé. She was the one who made him believe she loved him back. This was her fault! Jim flinched as he felt Jan's hand on his arm. Looking up, he saw genuine concern in her eyes. Glancing at the paperwork, he realized he had been gripping the pen so hard, his knuckles were turning white and the pen had begun to poke through the paper. Closing his eyes, he took a shaky breath and he felt all the heat drain from his face. His anger wasn't completely gone but it was enough for him to brush it off for Jan.

"Sorry" was all he could say as she removed her hand from his arm.

"You're sure everything is alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah, just had a fight with my roommate about my moving to Connecticut this morning," was Jim's response. He was surprised to see how easily that lie came.

"I'm sorry if the timing is any inconvenience to you. You're sure you want to do this?" Jan's voice was full of concern.

"Yes" he snapped (a little too quickly for his liking). She looked taken aback and he apologized. _She's helping you, Halpert… get a grip!_ "Is everything in order? Is that all I have to do?" Jan nodded, apparently still in shock at his demeanor and vocal tone. He stood up and stuck his hand out for her to shake. She robotically did so. "Thank you, Jan, I really mean it." And with that, he left the restaurant.

Driving home, he allowed a few tears to fall before hastily wiping at his eyes. He was doing it. He was leaving Scranton. _And it was her fault._

Ok, well there's Chapter 1… let me know what you think!

-Lunar Penguin


	3. Chapter 2

**So, I guess I should have mentioned that Jim is VERY OOC in this story. Some of you may not like where this is going. All I ask is that you keep an open mind.**

**DISCLAIMER: All I own are my ideas. Nothing else. Here's chapter 2… Enjoy!**

It was easier to be angry. When he was angry, he didn't cry; sometimes he smiled (albeit a little on the evil side), he didn't mope, and he had more energy. With a move to Connecticut coming up within the next couple of days, he needed that extra boost of energy. All things considered, he didn't feel bad that he was angry. In fact, he was happy he was angry. _It's her fault!_ That's all he had to keep telling himself. It was her fault he was leaving. It was her fault he was miserable. She's the one who rejected him, now she's the one who will suffer the consequences.

With everything in order for his transfer, all Jim had to do was find an apartment. He figured, he'd go up there on Sunday, find a place to live, sign the papers and the moving truck would meet him there later that day. He'd be ready to start work on Tuesday. No goodbyes; no one had to know. His lips curled into a Dwight-ish smile when he realized how hurt Pam would be when she found out he was gone for good; without even saying good-bye to her.

He wanted her to suffer. He wanted her to see what it felt like to be rejected on such a level. He hoped Roy hurt her in such a way that she regretted rejecting Jim. Brushing away the pang in his heart at the thought of Roy hurting her, he kept repeating his mantra: _It's all her fault, it's all her fault, and this is all because of her!_

Jim sat down on his couch and turned on HBO… he just had to try and get his mind off things. Noticing that Phantom of the Opera was on, he was about to change it when he saw the Phantom come on screen. For some reason, it captured his attention and he leaned back to watch it.

Seemingly mesmerized by the storyline, he couldn't help but sympathize with the Phantom. Here was a man, shunned by the woman he's in love with; a woman he's done everything for, and she's eternally ungrateful. He notices the Phantom's weakness at the end and resolves to not be so weak in life.

Jim's phone buzzed against his thigh making him jump. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw that he had a new text message from Pam. **Call me** it said. He chuckled to himself and deleted it from his phone. He wasn't going to call her. Talking to her would just make things worse. She probably just wanted to stomp on his already crushed heart anyways.

Sighing, he decided that he needed to finish packing and get to bed. He had to wake up early the next morning to organize all the boxes for the movers to load into the truck. Then he needed to drive to Stamford and find some new living arrangements.

Jim decided he needed some background music. Shuffling over to his CD Rack, he picked out Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. It had some hardcore music on it; exactly the type of music to fit his mood. _With You_ came on and he thought it was ironic how that song fit his life today.

_I woke up in a dream today  
To the cold of the static, and put my cold feet on the floor  
Forgot all about yesterday  
Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore  
A little taste of hypocrisy  
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake, slow to react   
Even though you're so close to me  
You're still so distant, and I can't bring you back_

It's true  
The way I feel  
Was promised by your face  
The sound of your voice  
Painted on my memories  
Even if you're not with me  
I'm with you

You   
Now I see  
Keeping everything inside  
You  
Now I see   
Even when I close my eyes

I hit you and you hit me back   
We fall to the floor, the rest of the day stands still  
Fine line between this and that  
When things go wrong I pretend the past isn't real  
Now I'm trapped in this memory  
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake, slow to react  
Even though you're close to me  
You're still so distant, and I can't bring you back 

No, no matter how far we've come  
I can't wait to see tomorrow  
No matter how far we've come  
I can't wait to see tomorrow  
With you

Shaking his head he continued to finish up his packing. All he had left to do was pack up his "home office" has Pam had called it. Tears began forming in his eyes and he blinked them back. _It's all her fault, she's why I'm leaving_ he repeated that over and over in his head until the tears went away and replaced themselves with anger.

Yes he liked being angry. It was so much easier.

**Well, there you go, there's Chapter 2. Read and Review please! Should I continue?**

**-Lunar Penguin**


End file.
